NEW YORK: Paul Pierce scored 23 points, and the Boston Celtics beat the New York Knicks 102-96 on Monday night in a heated first meeting of the season between the Atlantic Division rivals.
Kevin Garnett added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who even without the suspended Rajon Rondo won their third straight and finally are playing like the team that has ruled the division for the last half-decade.
The Knicks want that title now, but Carmelo Anthony and his teammates were reminded how tough the Celtics can make it.
Anthony had 20 points but shot 6 of 26 while battling his temper, Garnett and foul trouble. J.R. Smith led the Knicks with 24 points.
BULLS 118, CAVALIERS 92: At Chicago, Carlos Boozer had 24 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Bulls to a rout of the Cavaliers.
It was the third straight game that Boozer has eclipsed 20 points. This time he did it against the team that drafted him in 2002.
Joakim Noah added 11 points and 11 rebounds while Luol Deng had 19 points and seven assists for the Bulls, who beat the Cavaliers for an 11th straight time.
Chicago (19-13), which posted a season-high in points, moved to 11-1 when Boozer and Noah have double-doubles.
Dion Waiters led Cleveland (8-28) with 18 points. C.J. Miles and Kyrie Irving had 15 points apiece.
WIZARDS 101, THUNDER 99: At Washington, Bradley Beal made a jumper with 0.3 seconds left after using a pump fake to get open, and the short-handed Wizards beat the Thunder.
Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City (26-8) with 29 points.
The Wizards (5-28), playing without their top two scorers, had lost 13 of their previous 14, but they also beat the Miami Heat earlier in the season. Beal and Martell Webster led the Washington with 22 points each.
Kevin Seraphin added 19 points, and Emeka Okafor had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
The Thunder missed 16 straight shots from midway through the third quarter to midway through the fourth quarter.
HORNETS 95, SPURS 88: At New Orleans, Eric Gordon scored six straight points in a fourth quarter spurt and had 24 overall to lead the Hornets to a victory over San Antonio.
Anthony Davis added 17 points, Greivis Vasquez 14 and Ryan Anderson 13 for the Hornets, who have won two consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 2-3.
Manu Ginobili scored 21 points to lead the Spurs, who had won eight of their previous nine, dating to a 99-94 victory over the Hornets in San Antonio on Dec. 21.
Tony Parker had 16 points, Tim Duncan 13 and Kawhi Leonard 10 for San Antonio. Duncan was 5 of 14, at one point missing five consecutive shots in the third quarter.
The Spurs committed 19 turnovers, leading to 23 points for New Orleans.
Celtics beat Knicks in first matchup of the season
Celtics beat Knicks in first matchup of the season
Perth Scorchers win sixth BBL title after trouncing Sydney Sixers
- The Australia squad will fly to Pakistan to play three 20-over matches
- It will prepare Australia for opening T20 World Cup fixture against Ireland
PERTH: Perth Scorchers raced to their sixth Big Bash League title on Sunday with an emphatic six-wicket victory over Sydney Sixers in the final at Perth Stadium.
Earning hosting rights after crushing the Sixers in a qualifier last week, the Scorchers bowled first and bowled their six-time Grand Final rivals out for a paltry 132 in 20 overs as pacemen David Payne and Jhye Richardson combined for six wickets.
With 15 balls remaining in their reply, the hosts reached 133-4 anchored by a 43-ball 44 from Mitch Marsh.
“It feels like a weight has been lifted off our shoulders, we have high expectations, and to be able to deliver on those expectations is really satisfying,” said Scorchers captain Ashton Turner.
The table-topping Scorchers started their chase in audacious fashion when Marsh, Australia’s T20 captain, pulled the first ball for six.
His opening partner Finn Allen, the season’s top run-scorer with 466, got the better of quick Mitchell Starc in a 19-run fourth over, bringing the crowd to their feet with a scooped six into the second tier.
With rain threatening, the Scorchers powered ahead at nearly 10 an over until a spectacular one-handed catch by Jack Edwards off Starc dismissed Allen for 36.
Seamer Sean Abbott accounted for Aaron Hardie (five) and Marsh, but Josh Inglis (29 not out) saw the Scorchers over the line with a majestic six over long-off.
Earlier, the Perth crowd of 55,018 roared in delight when Sixers’ drawcard Steve Smith, who averaged 60 in the tournament at a strike rate of 168 yet finds himself out of T20 World Cup reckoning, dejectedly departed for 24 when all-rounder Hardie reviewed for lbw.
Fortunate to survive three missed run outs in the space of five balls, skipper Moises Henriques was caught for 24 off the medium pace of Payne, who ended with 3-18.
Fast bowler Mahli Beardman, on the cusp of international selection, closed out the innings with two wickets and a run out in the final over.
The Australia squad will fly to Pakistan for three 20-over matches in preparation for their first T20 World Cup fixture against Ireland in Colombo on February 11.
